Artist Sophie King’s Embroidered Corsets and Tees Are the Wearable Versions of #MeToo

Sophie King says a lot with a simple stitch. Since 2015, the 26-year-old British artist has been using embroidery to give women some very direct advice regarding men, relationships, and self-worth. She’s become something of a cult feminist voice on Instagram with nearly 40,000 followers and has a thriving website where she sells her message-strewn T-shirts, vintage lace corsets, and jackets, along with patches and buttons. You’re not a bad boy/you’re just a bad person is one of King’s most recently used phrases. Your first love should be yourself is another, along with Stop teaching girls that boys are mean to them because they like them. With more and more women speaking out now against sexual assault, and the rise of the #MeToo campaign on Twitter, King’s work feels especially relevant and incredibly powerful.

“In attempting to understand why women end up in shitty relationships with men, I’ve found that victim blaming doesn’t just happen with sexual harassment,” King says. “It’s part of a wider culture where women in general are blamed for how men have chosen to mistreat them.” This is the idea that inspired her to embroider the phrase Stop blaming women for men’s inadequacies. As King explains, “We have a big problem with failing to hold men accountable. Bad boys are romanticized and portrayed as a person that is troubled but has a hidden sensitive side, which is supposed to redeem them.” She adds, “The reality is that bad boys are usually just bad people.”

King initially decided to embroider vintage lace corsets because she wanted to use a piece of clothing that accentuated and highlighted the female form. “I hope that if people choose to, they will find empowerment in wearing some of my embroideries, which are about taking back ownership over our own bodies.” For King, it seems, it’s not necessarily about burning the bra but embracing it.